Obama calls for credit card reforms

By IBT Staff Reporter On 04/23/09 AT 4:54 PM

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama urged U.S. credit card company executives on Thursday to stop unfair rate increases and be more transparent and accountable, tapping into popular outrage over abusive lending.

We want to preserve the credit card market but we also want to do so in a way that eliminates some of the abuses and some of the problems that a lot of people are familiar with, Obama told reporters after a White House meeting with 13 executives from top banks and companies that issue the cards.

The credit card issue could be a political winner for Obama, with many Americans saying they are angry over lending practices.

Obama said he wanted new legislation being considered by the U.S. Congress to protect consumers against unfair rate increases and ban abusive fees and penalties.

The days of any time, any reason rate hikes and late fees has to end, he said, as he sat at a long table surrounded by the credit card executives

He also wants the legislation to ensure that credit card forms and statements are in plain language. No more fine print, no more confusing terms and conditions. We want clarity and transparency from here on out, Obama said.

We need more accountability in the system. That means more effective oversight and more effective enforcement so that people who are issuing credit cards and are violating the law will feel the full weight of the law, he said.

BILL OF RIGHTS

Executives from Bank of America Corp, American Express Co, Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Capital One Financial Corp, Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc were among those due to attend the White House meeting.

The meeting came a day after a House of Representatives bill to curb credit card fees and limit penalties cleared a key panel.

The legislation -- dubbed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights -- would codify into law restrictions on deceptive practices issued by the Federal Reserve in December.

The legislation would stop credit card issuers from imposing arbitrary interest rate increases and penalties, while halting certain billing practices. A separate version of the bill is under review in the Senate.

Lawmakers have expressed outrage that many of the card-issuing banks are the same ones that have received government bailout money, paid for by the U.S. taxpayers who use the cards and are being saddled with the high fees.

The effort to tighten the rules on those firms is part of a broader regulatory reform agenda Obama is pursuing after taking office in January amid the worst economic crisis in decades.

Banks say the tighter rules for card issuers would hurt fee income when they are trying to climb out of a financial hole created by the collapse of the housing boom.

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